#artothoughts

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TfP Starscream is trying to be something he's not and it's the reason his plans tend to fail

Idk if it's just me but I've always thought this so I had to write all my thoughts on it haha.

Anyways it's been awhile since I talked about TfP Starscream but here we go. Long text below readmore.

I haven't watched TFP in a hot minute so I'll probably have to revisit this post after a rewatch so I can add more concrete examples. Some of this is definitely my own ideas and interpretation so don't take this as 100% unbiased. If I remember right, at the very beginning before Megatron is in the picture, it's mentioned or implied that the Decepticons have been not super active, meanwhile we see the Decepticons with a great number of followers and energon mines and slowly but smartly and reliably thriving. Then Megatron comes along and immediately wants to go for something bigger than that, which ends up costing them energon mines and soldiers.

I know the show tries to say that Megatron is smart and cunning which, in some respects like in battle, I would agree. However, in others I think his greed, ego, and love of taking major risks for the potential of a high reward makes him both extremely dangerous but also extremely vulnerable to major losses. That's where Starscream is supposed to come in (If Megs let him). Megatron is the brute force his way through problems guy. (Not always but a good chunk of time he is) And because he is undeniably one of the strongest characters in the show it often works in his favor. Starscream however is not the biggest or strongest physically (which Megatron frequently likes to remind him of) but the Autobots still describe him as unpredictable and dangerous. I always felt like he's the planner, the backstabber, and ultimately the clever one who is more insidious in his methods. I feel like his strength would be small but reliable and continuous gains. THAT'S where I feel his strength is. That's who he is. And if the Decepticons weren't so focused on sheer strength and power, and intimidation, and Megatron was more accepting of feedback maybe he would actually help Megatron's plans have greater chances of success. However, throughout the show we regularly see him bullied by the more physically imposing characters, which I feel honestly really made serious dents in his ego, to the point where he wants so badly to be just like Megatron. To be viewed as strong and powerful like Megatron is. To have that respect, power, and charisma. As a result, he keeps trying to brute force his way through problems and gain more and more power. He keeps trying to be showier about it. Obviously, his own ego, greed, and habit of backstabbing DOES play a part in why he fails but there are several moments in the show where I feel he could have come out on top if he played it smart instead of trying to brute force it. He's trying so hard to be what Megatron is that he essentially isn't using his strengths as much as he should. He becomes more and more desperate over time to be something he isn't, and it really shows in how often his attempts to gain power fail.

While RiD(15) was much hated, especially Starscreams return for a multitude of reasons, I actually don't think that it was way out of Starscream's character arc. To get his frame changed to a bigger stronger body and once again try and brute force his way to victory but still ultimately lose despite getting so close feels like the end of the line for him. And the fact that Starscream is caught by Optimus and not straight up dead could legit have been an opening for, maybe not a full redemption but a redemption or change in general. It would essentially be his rock bottom at which point, he could either double down or finally realize that this isn't the right way to do things for him. Do ya'll remember that one TfP comic where he has to fight off stronger vehicons in this like Pseudo gladiator pit made by Megatron and he comes out on top because he uses his smarts? I think about that comic a lot when it comes to Starscream haha.

I also think about the fact that Starscream came to Breakdown's aid when Megatron refused a lot. I know he did it largely for a favor but idk... maybe I'm reading too much into it. I feel like Starscream isn't a good guy doing things out of the goodness of his heart per say but I do think he values his people more. Megatron is very "if you're not strong enough to save yourself then die since your useless to me" about things.

TLDR; Starscream was nerfed by Megatron.

ANYWAYS!! Listen, this post isn't also to say that Starscream is perfect or that he would have succeeded if he played to his strength all the time. And I do still think his hunger for power and habit of gloating when he has the upper hand instead of acting quickly is a major reason why he fails but idk. I felt like his desperation to be Megatron was pretty essential to why he acts the way he does.

And I could totally be wrong about some of my points, this is just what I remember thinking when I did watch. ANYWAYS thank you for reading.

[artobotsrollout]

Just saw Transformers One and you all should also go watch it because it deserves more attention and watches than it's been getting. I want Transformers Two dang it!!!

Short review: Gorgeous visuals, fun storyline, and really fun characterizations! Yes some of Bumblebee's jokes are very much aimed at kids specifically, but there's a lot of humour for all ages in the film and I laughed out loud several times. The Trailer really didn't do the movie justice tbh. It was fun seeing so many nods to beloved characters as well in the background.

If yall want a longer review lmk!

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I've watched Beast Machines with @optimistpax and this might be controversial.

Beast Machines isn't as horrifically bad as the fandom says it is.

This is largely just my opinion.

Is Beast Machines good?

LISTEN I know the designs are scary, the genre swap from beast wars to beast machines is very jarring, some of the writing is wack, and they really did Rhinox dirty. Yes. I agree. I wouldn't say it was an amazing or even great show. Overall I'd say it's okay. Interesting at best. BUT you gotta admit that there was some unique ideas that they tried to showcase.

I started out thinking the same thing everyone did "WTF is this show, why are the designs creepy? the "I am transformed" bit is kinda weird" stuff like that. But we began to look past odd design and story choices and tried to view it as something more independent from Beast Wars and we saw some interesting stuff going on.

I'm well aware of its flaws, you're probably well aware of its flaws, so I'm not going to talk a lot about those. This is mostly talking about some of the good or almost good things it brought to the table.

The Redeemable

@optimistpax pointed out that the designs were almost good in some of their choices. Despite my early dislike of the designs I kinda had to admit that, even though they didn't quite stick the landing, they were kinda brave in going as funky and as distinctly shaped with the designs as they did. I respect the fact that they didn't waffle about being out there and alien. They straight up committed to being as weird and unusual as possible. And the designs have some cool potential if you look past the sort of creepy aspects. Ngl im tempted to try adjusting their designs to try and make them a lil less creepy. But some of the artistic choices were really unique!!

Post-apocalypse survival is a really cool vibe to see in a TF show! It was such a massive tonal difference from Beast Wars which personally?? I felt it kind of worked, at least for me. I can see why it might be a jarring shift for people but it was fun to see the characters encounter an entirely NEW set of problems unlike anything theyve fought before. It was fun to see the same characters fighting in an almost new genre. But I can see how that also might bother viewers who were expecting more Beast Wars.

The idea of the balance between the organic and the mechanic is also kinda cool. At some points it got weird, I'll readily admit, but the idea of balance between tech and nature is an interesting concept. I've always kinda wanted techno organic ideas to be explored more because there's often suggestions in Transformers media that hints at humans and Cybertronians being linked in some way. So to see this kind of explored was a good time. Wish they went in more depth.

Some of the artistic choices were actually surprisingly good. Like there's an episode featuring Rattrap where there's some really great colour, lighting, and composition choices. I can't remember the name of the episode offhand but it was the one where Rattrap promised not to let anyone harm megatron for 24 hours(I think) in exchange for something they needed. And he had to facedown his own teammates.

The episodes usually made sense and there was some really interesting character interactions. I liked seeing Cheetor kinda grow up from how he was in Beast Wars. I loved seeing Airachnid as fully on team Maximal. Her personality was so fun. Rattrap had some interesting character defining moments which I thoroughly enjoyed?? Despite being pretty neutral about Rattrap in general. Nightscream, Botanica, and Strika were very fun additions and I love their designs. Really put of the box thinking.

I didn't fully understand Megatron's motivation. Like I understand what he wanted to do but I'm not 100% sure what sparked it or why he'd want it. I do think him wanting to essentially run a dystopia is a cool concept however. I like the idea of him trying to rid himself of his organic side. It kinda hammers home the techno organic inevitability message that they want to get across.

Honestly I think that people hate Beast Machines largely because it was meant as a follow up from Beast wars and was incredibly different from it. It wasn't the direction that a lot of people wanted and expected the story to go. Which is fair enough. If viewed with some degree of separation tho I'd say the quality of it isn't that different from Beast Wars.

At the end of the day the writing was goofy but fun. The designs were unique and alien but kinda scary and needed a few more passes before going to production. But there's something charming about it that I think a lot of people miss.

If you haven't seen it yet but want to watch the show, my best recommendation is, don't expect it to feel like Beast Wars.

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Consider... Alpha Trion having wings.

Alpha Trion's wings giving him a silhouette that looks like a cape. Listen I just love the concept of cape looking wings.

The archives being super tall to house the sheer mass of cybertronian knowledge and built with Alpha Trion and his wings in mind.

He launches himself up in the archives to quickly reach hard to reach datapads, hovers as he decides which ones to bring back down, and sits on high shelves without fear when he gets distracted by a particularly eye catching entry. Yes he's read this book 50 times already! It's just that good of a book that it maintains that excitement with every read!

Poor Orion has to use a shit ton of those library ladders to reach certain ones at his mentor's request or if he wants to read a data pad with knowledge that isn't frequently accessed.

Until, as Optimus, he gets wings and and OP is like "FINALLY!" and can't resist copying his old mentor.

The rebuilding of the Archives, once the war is over, is done with the intent of making it more accessible to cybertronians. Optimus actively works with the rebuilding of the Archives in particular to basically make an information hub freely accessible by everyone.

Yes there are still high shelves but those are saved for original copies, old datapads on their last legs, and less accessed materials. Copies of all of them can be accessed on multiple floors and terminals.

Basically Optimus, while not an archivist anymore, actively makes sure that knowledge is shared and spread to everyone.

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Hey!!! i've been seeing your Knockout posts, so i wanted to shift your focus to this face that KO makes after Starscream snaps at him in the final movie

Its small but it really speaks volume about all the shit he's had to put up with and this was his last straw

OOO YES thank you for submitting this cause you're absolutely right that his face shifted in a way that made it clear that this was the final straw.

Major Transformers: Prime and Predacons Rising spoilers. Read at your own peril.

In my opinion I honestly think that Knockout wasn't planning to knock out (heh) Starscream the way he did until Starscream told him to shut up. Based on his facial expressions I think it was a slap to the face realization moment.

His face shifts from shock/dismay at Starscream telling him to shut up, to this expression of realization.

I think it's largely bc Starscream was basically the last thing in the Decepticons that could have made him stay. Whether or not someone interprets that as friendship or Knockout being hopeful that things would be different if Starscream led is up to the viewer. I think it's a mix of both tbh. I don't know if they'd be considered full on friends but as far as we could see on screen Starscream was the last friendly face that Knockout had connection to in the Decepticons.

It also hurts a bit. Considering TfP sometimes had good theming but often had messages and themes that, in my opinion, weren't explored as well as they could have been or just weren't explored further I'm unsure if this next parallel was intentional or not. But Starscream's "Shut up you!" was said after Knockout said something kinda cheesy/punny in the evil way he does. The thing is? He used to say the cheesiest shit with Breakdown. And every time one of them started a punny line or something? The other would add to it.

In a way this moment was kind of a contrast between the two relationships. Breakdown matched his energy. I don't think Breakdown got enough screentime nor did the dynamic between Knockout and Breakdown get explored as much as it could have been but you can still get a good read on their bond. And comparing Breakdown's relationship with KO vs Starscream's it's easy to see how one lifts each other up and the other is well... rocky.

So Starscream telling him to shut up made him realize the distinct difference from his relationship with Breakdown. It basically told Knockout Imo that Starscream didn't like or care about him the way a companion should. And with that realization came the realization that he really had nothing left with the Decepticons. Not even the last person he had a semi-positive relationship with actually cared about him.

Some people think Knockout's defection was just shoved in willy nilly but, in my opinion, as far as side switching goes, Knockout is honestly the only Decepticon that I think made sense even if it was rushed. I know some people say it was badly done which, totally fair. Though I would have loved to see more buildup and a sort of, episode to remind viewers how shitty he was treated so his defection felt more natural plus more bonding with Breakdown to give us a better sense that they were close, Knockout's defection honestly? Made sense if you thought about it.

Enough shitty stuff happened to him bc of being in the Decepticons, add to the fact that with Breakdown gone he was now entirely alone to warrant a side change. And from the get go he never seemed particularly loyal to the Decepticons as a whole. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Knockout joined the Decepticons for the ✨ aesthetic ✨/hj. He's already shown a tendency to enjoy roaming and doing his own thing. So him ditching when there's nothing left worth staying for? Very in character I think.

I wish it got more attention than just a brief plot point in Predacons Rising but like, TfP had been cancelled so I kinda get it.

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May or may not be powering my motivation to learn 3D modelling with the unhinged desire to make 3D printable models of Transformers characters in the future. Specifically ones that are either really expensive to get toys of and/or doesn't have many decent toy models and/or is difficult to find. OR make toys based on my own design version of the characters that I'm hoping to do??

The idea of just being able to make a figure is pretty sick. And apparently you can get decent 3D printers these days much easier than a few years ago.

I'm curious to hear about y'all's fav characters who don't have good figures/any figures

I know MtMtE/Lost Light Drift and Deadlock are hella expensive, and the TfP Ratchet figure is really expensive on Ebay. And Lost Light Ratchet and MtmtE/Lost light Whirl doesn't have a figure at all but hit me with your characters that deserve a figure/a better figure. I'm hella curious.

[artobotsrollout]

Dinosaur Alt Modes and their Accuracy

I like to think that Cybertronians that turn into dinosaurs have varying degrees of interest in the accuracy of their alt mode. Some will change their alt mode slightly every time there's a new thing discovered about their chosen species while others are just focused on how cool they look or they pick and choose the parts they feel they connect with while ignoring parts they don't. And then there's some that stick with versions because they saw it in a movie and that version of it feels right.

Of course this often results in arguments amongst those with dinosaur alt modes. I like to think most iterations of Grimlock tend to lean into "wants to look cool". Then there's one transformer who chose Godzilla as their alt mode and keeps begging the dinobots to let them into the dinobot club.

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Kinda love how Starscream was like "Your attitude of "Fuck Authority" is great, and I love it but DONT DO IT TO ME!!" It was pretty great. And the fact he didn't resort to violence for discipline is 👌. Would have loved to see more of how Starscream is trying to be a better leader than Megatron. Maybe see more of him bonding with Hashtag and the rest of the Terrans despite his attempts not to.

I know the show wanted him to be more evil but... A Starscream who finds out he has a soft spot for these kiddos and so panics tries to overcompensate for what he perceives as a weak point by being extra evil for a bit only to be won over or at least more neutral in the end would be great.